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Staff Profile

Dr Christine Batchelor

Lecturer in Physical Geography

  • Email: christine.batchelor@ncl.ac.uk
  • Address: School of Geography, Politics and Sociology,
    Henry Daysh Building,
    Newcastle University,
    Newcastle upon Tyne,
    NE1 7RU, UK

    Room 3.57
Background

I am a physical geographer with a broad research interest in reconstructing the past extent and behaviour of ice sheets. I am interested in all temporal scales of ice-sheet and climatic change, ranging from annual ice-margin fluctuations, to large-scale advances and retreats of ice sheets during the last ~3 million years. I mainly use marine geophysical techniques to analyse the glacial landforms and sediments that are preserved on and beneath the seafloor.

Interests: ice sheets past and present; marine geology and geophysics; glacial geomorphology; Quaternary environmental change 

Employment:

2021 -           Lecturer in Physical Geography, Newcastle University, UK

2018-2021    Vista Postdoctoral Scholar, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway

2015-2018    Junior Research Fellow, Newnham College, University of Cambridge, UK

2014-2015    Postdoctoral Research Associate, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, UK


Education:

2010-2014    PhD Polar Studies, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, UK

2009-2010    MPhil Polar Studies (Distinction), Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, UK

2006-2009    BA Geography (First Class), University of Cambridge, UK

 

Google Scholar

 

ResearchGate

 

2021 Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award, Cryospheric Sciences division, European Geosciences Union

Research

In my research I aim to reconstruct the former configuration and dynamics of ice sheets. This work is motivated by the need to provide a context for modern observations, to constrain numerical models, and to predict the likely future ice-sheet response to climatic change.

I have investigated past ice-sheet behaviour in many glaciated and formerly glaciated areas of the world, including Antarctica, Greenland, Canada, Svalbard, Norway and the North Sea. I use a variety of geophysical and geological research techniques, including: multibeam echo-sounder data; sub-bottom profiles; seismic data; sediment cores; and aerial and satellite images.

 

Ice-sheet behaviour since the Last Glacial Maximum

At the Last Glacial Maximum, around 20,000 years ago, ice sheets extended across relatively shallow areas of the seafloor on mid- and high-latitude continental margins.

In my research I use geophysical and geological data acquired from deglaciated continental shelves and fjords to interpret the glacial landforms and sediments that are preserved on the seafloor. These landforms and sediments provide information about the past form and flow of ice sheets, including the speed and style of ice-sheet retreat that occurred prior to the widespread application of remote sensing techniques.

My past research includes examining the past behaviour of the outlet glaciers of the Greenland Ice Sheet and investigating the former extent and dynamics of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet. In support of this research I have acquired new data about the seafloor and subsurface during three research cruises to Antarctica, including onboard the SA Agulhas II during the 2019 Weddell Sea Expedition.

Check out my recent paper in Science! Here, we used an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to image some spectacular submarine glacial landforms that have worrying implications for potential rates of ice-sheet retreat.

 

Ice-sheet behaviour during the Quaternary Period

The Quaternary, which spans the last 2.6 million years, has been characterised by a distinctive pattern of alternating glacial and interglacial periods. My research is concerned with examining the changing extent and dynamics of ice sheets during this time, which is important to understand how global climatic changes are translated into ice-sheet fluctuations.

My recent paper in Nature Communications summarises what we currently know about the configuration of ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere during the Quaternary.

My PhD research was focused on reconstructing the glacial history of the Canadian Beaufort Sea margin. More recently, I have used seismic-reflection data to examine how the landscape of the North Sea changed in response to glaciation during the last few million years.

 

The distribution, characteristics and formation of glacial landforms

It can be difficult and dangerous to access the beds and margins of contemporary glaciers and ice sheets. However, information about these areas in needed to understand the ways in which sediment and meltwater are transported and released by ice.

In my research I analyse the former beds and margins of ice sheets in terrestrial and marine environments. I have examined the distribution and characteristics of a diverse array of glacial landforms, including grounding-zone wedges, lateral moraines, and tunnel valleys, with the aim of providing new insights into how they are formed.

More recently, I have used high-resolution marine geophysical data to investigate the subdued features that are produced by the interaction of ice and tides.

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching:

Stage 1:

GEO1020: Introduction to Physical Geography


Stage 2:

GEO2127: Doing Physical Geography Research: Theory and Practice

GEO2136: Global Environmental Change

GEO2226: Glacial Environments (module leader)


Stage 3:

GEO3128: Polar Environments

GEO3099: Dissertations


Postgraduate teaching:

GEO8025: Environmental Geophysics


Publications